Alexander Skarsgård

ALEXANDER SKARSGARD is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career at the age of eight and worked steadily in films and on Swedish television. Skarsgard went on to study theater at the Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. and at Marymount Manhattan College in New York. He returned to Sweden and appeared in a number of productions that made him a star in his native country.A visit to Los Angeles landed him a part in the hit comedy Zoolander (2001), where he starred alongside Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell.

Skarsgard returned home to Sweden to continue honing his acting skills with roles in film and theatrical productions, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Bloody Wedding. In 2003, he co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, Att döda ett barn (To Kill a Child ), which was shown at the Tribeca and Cannes film festivals.

His first big break in the U.S. was with the HBO miniseries Generation Kill (2008). His portrayal of Marine Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert astonished critics and audiences alike. Immediately following that film, Skarsgard was cast in the role of Eric Northman, a 1,000-year-old Viking vampire, on HBO's hit series True Blood (2008), where he currently stars alongside Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. The show rode to success on quality scripts, great acting and the public's obsession with the vampire genre.

Skarsgard starred in Fox Searchlight's The East (2012), directed by Zal Batmanglij; What Maisie Knew (2012), directed by David Siegel and Scott McGehee, and starring Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan; and Disconnect (2012), directed by Henry Alex Rubin and starring opposite Paula Patton, Jason Bateman and Andrea Riseborough. His film credits also include Lars von Trier's award-winning Melancholia, starring opposite Kirsten Dunst, and Rod Lurie's remake of Straw Dogs. His other films include Géla Babluani's 13, starring Sam Riley, Mickey Rourke and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson; the independent film Metropia, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; and the animated film Moomins and the Comet Chase, with his father, actor Stellan Skarsgard.

© 2012 Universal Pictures